Twitter, the social networking and microblogging service whose San Francisco headquarters is located in the same neighborhood as our main office and several of our affordable rental properties, teamed up with us on their latest #FridayforGood, an opportunity for Twitter employees to volunteer their time and energy to scores of worthy community organizations in the area.

On June 6, three Twitter engineers -- Samya DasSarma, Raman Butta and Tung Vo -- chose to spend their #FridayforGood at one of our properties, 421 Turk Street, which consists of 29 of our 292 total low-income units and is only a couple blocks away from Twitter headquarters. Resident manager Bella De Barros, who has been living at and running the property since it was constructed back in 2004, needed help clearing the rooftop garden, which had gone unwatered due to the current drought but had become overrun by tall, dry grass, a fire hazard. This and other needs at 421 Turk were posted by Caroline Barlerin, Twitter's Head of Community Outreach and Philanthropy, on Twitter for #FridayforGood bulletin board, and Bella and the residents of 421 Turk were touched by the response.

Ruiz Foods, a client of our Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) Center in Fresno, will be receiving the Minority Manufacturing Firm of the Year Award later this summer in Washington, DC. The Central Valley-based food company was nominated by Fresno MBDA Center Director David Mendoza earlier this year. The Central Valley-based food company, best known for their El Monterey frozen Mexican food line, has had a busy year, having recently announced two major manufacturing expansions in South Carolina and Texas.

We are proud to have nominated our client for the MBDA Minority Manufacturing Firm of the Year Award -- congratulations, Ruiz Foods!

Housing Director Nobby Cheng delivers advice at Housing Expo

On June 11, San Francisco's Housing Expo 2014, The City's largest homeownership resource fair, hosted over 1,000 attendees, including not just prospective homebuyers but also current homeowners in need of assistance. The Expo featured over 40 different booths staffed by industry experts who provided the latest information on purchasing and maintaining ownership of a home in San Francisco.

As a member of housing counseling consortium HomeownershipSF, which organized the Expo, we answered many questions and offered services from our booth, but also delivered seminars in which we provided attendees our expert advice.

Our Housing Program Director Nobby Cheng presented to a Cantonese-speaking audience in their native language on the City’s housing programs, including the Below Market Rate (BMR) and Downpayment Assistance Loan Program. “The Expo is a great place for anyone to learn how to make the `American Dream´ possible in San Francisco,” Cheng said.

Fresno MBDA Center business consultant Olga Martinez recently attended the “Building a High-Performing Minority Business” executive education program at the prestigious Tuck School of Business, at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Through the program, MBDA staff gained valuable knowledge to help their clients optimize their competitive advantage, increase profitability, gain repeat business, revamp processes more efficiently and improve their management structure for growth and productivity.

The five-day program, which focuses on advancing minority business capabilities, is the only one of its kind that provides Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) with hands-on academic learning and training experience.

“MBEs had fun thinking outside the box, given the environment was conducive to creating and dreaming of the `what ifs´ for their current business and perhaps a new future,” Martinez said.

To facilitate her participation, Martinez received an award from the Rosemary Delores Lopez Memorial Scholarship Fund, which is granted only to women business owners who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, successful ownership and meaningful contributions to the community.

Our Gala's VIP Honorary Host Committee grows

We'd like to thank the following elected officials for their continued support of our annual Gala and MED Week Celebration. They have pledged to make this year's event (details below) our most successful one ever! Look for our VIP Hosts at our Gala and bid on their donations to our silent auction. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates on our growing list of VIP Honorary Hosts.

State

Dave Jones - Insurance Commissioner

Betty Yee - Member, Board of Equalization

Phil Ting - Assemblymember, District 18

Oakland

Courtney Ruby - Auditor

Rebecca Kaplan - Councilmember-at-Large

Dan Kalb - Councilmember, District 1

San Francisco

Ed Lee - Mayor

Carmen Chu - Assessor-Recorder

Jeff Adachi - Public Defender

Jose Cisneros - Treasurer

Eric Mar - Supervisor, District 1

David Chiu - Supervisor, District 3

Katy Tang - Supervisor, District 4

Scott Wiener - Supervisor, District 8

David Campos - Supervisor, District 9

Malia Cohen - Supervisor, District 10

San Jose

Ash Kalra - Councilmember, District 2

Kansen Chu - Councilmember, District 4

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